Lake County’s Community Violence Intervention Program — also known as the “peacemakers” — has been awarded a $1 million federal grant in an effort to continue to strengthen public safety.
U.S. 10th District Rep. Brad Schneider announced this month that he secured nearly $12.5 million in federal funding for 15 community projects across Cook, Lake and McHenry counties for the upcoming fiscal year.
He said the federal funding bill was negotiated and passed through the U.S. House and Senate and is part of several bipartisan appropriations packages.
The funding is earmarked toward improving public safety, replacing lead service lines and aging water mains, restoring lake shores and wetlands, and much more, Schneider said.
“I am proud to partner with wonderful local leaders who serve our communities as we advance opportunities to make a real difference for our shared constituents,” Schneider said.
“That’s why I could not be prouder to have successfully secured more than $12 million in federal funds for fifteen important initiatives that will improve the lives and well-being of folks all across our community,” he said.
Of the nearly $12.5 million, $1 million was awarded to the Community Violence Intervention (CVI) program, which is part of the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office’s Gun Violence Prevention Initiative (GVPI).
The state’s attorney’s office’s GVPI program was founded in late 2022 and consists of several components, including the CVI, that aim to reduce gun violence and save lives.
The Waukegan Township provides the community violence intervention component by serving as the fiscal recipient of grants for the Lake County Peacemakers.
The program uses street-level staff who work with high-risk individuals to resolve conflicts and reduce gun violence, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart previously said.
Rinehart has said that the interrupters work closely with law enforcement to focus on hotspots, to mediate disputes and prevent retaliation.
In addition to the money for the violence interrupter program, Schneider also secured $240,000 for the Round Lake Beach Police Communications Modernization Project, $447,000 for the North Chicago Police Radio Communications Modernization Project and $580,694 for the Antioch Downtown Improvements at Lake and Main streets.
Sanitary sewers improvement projects in Antioch Township, Spring Grove, at the George B. Prindle Water Treatment Plant in Highland Park and at the Northwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility in Fox Lake received just over $1 million each, Schneider said.
The North Chicago Lead Service Line and Water Main Replacement Project and the Shoreline Restoration project at the Big and Little Bear Lakes in Vernon Hills received $1.09 million each.
Improving Natural Resources at Gander Mountain Forest Preserve received $1 million, Schneider said, while the Silver Creek Habitat Restoration and Flood Reduction Project received $300,000, and the Waukegan Park District Adaptive Recreation Project at Roosevelt Park received $250,000.
The Lakeside Tower Rehabilitation project, a 150-unit affordable multifamily building in Waukegan, also obtained a grant of $1 million.
Since taking office, Schneider has secured more than $100 million in funding for Illinois’s 10th Congressional District through Community Project Funding requests, his office said.
“These funds from Round Lake to Wilmette, North Chicago to Antioch, and Waukegan to Highland Park, communities from every corner of IL-10 will benefit from these crucial investments,” Schneider said. “I’m looking forward to visiting every one of them.”